Tag Archives: spring/summer 10

There’s only one thing I love more than beautiful jewellery, and that’s being able to get creative and make up my own creations. So, I went to the Swarovski Crystallized press day to check out which new pieces I’d be lusting after when the sun comes out again.

The Azzaro collection, designed by Vanessa Sewell, is full of bold, simple and sparkly pieces in silver and gold. One of the main pieces is a vintage-style black and silver shell locket necklace with a chain tassel. It reminds me of something from Titanic and it would look amazing with a silk, drop-waist evening dress.

My personal favourites from the Azzaro collection are a blingtastic crystal encrusted wave cuff and slim bangles with rows of tiny crystals.

I was blown away by the new collection by French jewellery designer Philippe Ferrandis and would put every single piece on my wish list (mysterious benefactor, take note please).

I’m not sure what most of the stones are, to be honest, so I’ll let you judge the pictures for yourself….

I love the contrast between the iridescent white flower and the spiky crystals on the ring and earrings. They look quite Japanese and futuristic – perfect for the winter snow queen look.

The pearl and emerald necklace and earrings have a vintage, Jazz Age feel and are priced between around £250 and £500.

The new ready-to-wear collection is inspired by the fresh, clear light of a Scandinavian summer. Pieces incorporate oval spheres and interchangeable pendants in subtle, neutral colours. The silk cord necklaces reflect the beach element and they will go perfectly with next season’s nudes.

The mainline collection featured some pretty affordable pearls for under £20 and everyone was fawning over the stretchy crystal bracelets that you can stack up, costing just £10!

We were also treated to a sneak peak at the exclusive Daisy Lowe collection that she designed with the Creative Director. The pieces are typical Daisy with black, green and silver stars and moons – flirty but a little bit dark and mystical.

All collections are available from January at the Swarovski Crystallized store.

I’ve already grown tired of dressing appropriately for the cold weather, although I’ve still been trotting round in a tweed blazer rather than a full-on winter coat, so taking a peak at Fam Irvoll’s SS10 collection has lifted my fashion spirits (which took a dent after seeing Heidi Montag wearing those sequinned Miu Miu socks early this morning).

Fam is a Norwegian designer who shows at Oslo Fashion Week and has just been taken on by Blow PR, so we’ll be seeing much more of her nutty knitwear over here.

After studying at the Ecole Supérieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode, Fam came to Central St Martins for her BA (Hon) in Fashion Knitwear, graduating in 2008.

Fam’s colourful past collections have featured shrunked dolly dresses, sweaters with 3D ladybirds and ice lollies, ruffled prom dresses and a quirky mouse bustier top – all in eye-popping colours. My personal diagnosis of Fam’s style would be part Sonia Rykiel crossed with Grayson Perry and My Little Pony – not a bad combo, I might add!

Celeb fans already include Mika and Lady Gaga, who apparently called up Fam and ordered a 3D cherry sweater and a cake headpiece.

But quickly on to Fam’s SS10 collection, I Love Gays, which is dominantly nautical with Hawaiian and 50s rockabilly influences. It’s very sailor girl meets Dorothy with a bit of Dolly Parton thrown in for good measure.

For summer, Fam has traded in her magenta and purples for more primary colours like banana yellow, pillarbox red and cobalt blue.

I absolutely adore the sparkling sailboat headpieces and there are plenty of other accessories to keep your wardrobe entertained, like blue and red bow bobby socks, ruby slippers and berry and floral headbands in the style of Brazilian samba queen Carmen Miranda. It would really make my day if there was a Fred Butler or Tatty Devine collaboration on the cards – I reckon they could make some mad pieces together.

Fam runs her own club night, Neverland, in Oslo with her equally creative friends and like the name suggests, she gets inspiration from fairytales and east London/Oslo club kids. You can follow Fam’s crazy adventures and adorable outfits on her blog.

Prices start from £40 and you can find stockists by contacting Fam on her website.

Romeo Pires’ Spring/Summer 10 show kicked off with cosmos and mojitos, which is always better than queuing in the rain. This is design duo Nicholas Humphrey and Sergio Pires’ second collection at LFW and they picked up where they left off last season with their signature art-inspired graphic prints.

The monochrome pieces showed a more feminine, dreamy take on a tuxedo and skeleton prints were also featured.

The second part of the collection saw graphic colour prints emblazoned with checkerboards, apples, Roy Lichtenstein-inspired tableaux, mystical swirls and geometric blocks.

The majority of the collection was created using silk and includes sheer blouses, tailored shorts and beautifully draped jumpsuits. A perfectly wearable and cohesive Spring/Summer collection if ever there was!

The Bryce show was absolutely packed with people even standing on the ledges to get a better view. I loved the kind of hush-hush, secret society vibe of the Freemasons Hall – such an interesting venue!

Bryce’s Spring/Summer 10 collection combined chic, 50s Parisian style with a contemporary ‘London body-con’ look and futuristic detailing. This season’s woman has grown up and is a sophisticated bombshell with a whole lot of attitude.

The collection was divided into 3 different styles – he kicked off with sheer structured dresses, a panelled bodysuit adorned with some fierce Lady Gaga-esque fabric spikes, all in a palette of black and gold-spun beige. The next look was a lot softer and more playful with two-tone dresses featuring a gorgeous bold circle print. They still had the obligatory statement shoulders and the spikes ran through the collection. The last instalment focused on the black body-con dressand skirt suit in stretch satin with beautifully draped red chiffon. There were also flashes of glittering pillarbox red on the skirts and leggings.

It’s all GO at London Fashion Week and I’ve made it my mission to check out all of the best new off-schedule designers that are soon to be the next Marios, Emilio or Louise – Gray or Goldin, both pretty fab in my opinion!

I missed the ioannisdimitrousis show on the first day, as I was still working away – freelances can’t make such outrageous demands, y’know. But from what I’ve seen, his Spring/Summer 10 collection, he has continued his fishnet knits and added disc sequins, flower embellishments and contrasting panels, aka stripes. But he has really embraced the spirit of Spring with his fresh take on monochrome and delicate silver and the collection features cropped tuxedo jackets, romantic button-down skirts, checked shirts and modified summer dresses. There’s something Chanel Cruise collection about this dress – I love it!

So, my first show of the season was Blow PR’s catwalk show at Royal Festival Hall. Blow always pick up on the most imaginative emerging designers and I was just dying to see Charlie Le Mindu’s hair sculptures in ‘real life’.

First up was a quick guest appearance from Joe, of Blue Peter fame (I’m sorry, I don’t know who he is) modelling… some clothes – best ask someone else about that one.

Charlie Le Mindu opened the show with an amazing Eiffel tower headpiece and from there we had hair-covered giant lips (think a Lulu Guinness purse after a blowdry), a plaited hair burka, hair-covered sunglasses and . There was even a tufty fringe of hair on the amazing Tuk for Charlie Le Mindu brothel creeps! Kap Bambino were responsible for the amazing soundtrack and I know that L7 was definitely played, but I forget what else, as I was so astounded by the models.

Next up was Gemma Slack with her superheroine-inspired second collection of badass leather, proper studs and metal armour plates. Cones play a massive part in the collection, from Gaultier-style cone bra tops (complete with pierced nipples) and circular skirts to a futurist metal e-collar and oriental hats.

Like the Motley Crue soundtrack would suggest, her vision comes from 80s hair-metal girls and fetishised comic book characters. Gemma’s girl is unapologetically sexual and powerful and of course has an incredible cutaway bikini for lounging ’round the pool on Sunset Strip…jealous, moi?

Gemma spent two years as an apprentice to Gareth Pugh and it’s clear that the experience has made her into a bit of a perfectionist, creating really well-formed, striking pieces. I could go on about her for ages, but I’ll move on…

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Up next was Lina Osterman with a sophisticated, gothic and well-tailored collection. It was her first catwalk show since graduating from Central St Martins and it also showcased her new jewellery collection featuring chunky silver rings and dirty metal chains.

Like many Swedish designers, Lina is more interested in design than colour and used a palette of black, navy and a momentary flash of white. The collection features cropped blazers, belted coats, skin-tight jeans with studded knee-pad details. Lina has developed a darker edge from the simple deconstruction aesthetic of her first label Pudel and the faces half covered with net and bowl cuts (styling by Robbie Spencer) add a subdued goth rock element.

Iris Van Herpen finished the show with an exquisite, fluid and complex collection. Iris explores the movement of the human body, focusing on waves and radiations surrounding it. She interprets how these lines may appear through the incredible manipulation of leather and ponders a future where we can actually see them.

This would explain the great energy of the pieces, from endless spirals and almost tribal marks to uniformly abbrasive ‘metal shavings’. Iris also referenced Burmese ornamental neck rings, metal animal skulls and the concept of waves attacking and protecting the body. The beige and gold dress was breathtakingly detailed and the oil-slick black pieces really expressed Iris’ rather fearful vision of the future.

So, after such a great and varied show, I went to check out what was going on at Blow PR Presents…Juniors downstairs. The kids were having a blast, getting their hair and make-up done, putting together their own outfits even crazier than those in the East End and being snapped by We Are Photogirls. Future fashionistas in the making, for sure!

Later on, I hit the exhibition, drank some Chambord and champagne in the media lounge and caught up with some of the ELLEuk.com girls of past and present taking street style pics and making good use of the Toni & Guy Blow-Out Bar.

Next stop, Steve J and Yoni P presentation followed by the Bryce d’Anice Aime show…more to follow!